Nipple shape after feeding?

[Pansy]

Hello!

My 3 week old feeds very well (lots if weight gain) but my nipples have become very sore over the last few days. My right nipple is a lot worse than the left.

I rang the Breast Feeding Advicd line & they thought it coukd be a latching issue. She looks like she latches perfectly, but they asked if my nipples looked like a new lipstick when she'd finished. I've now noticed they do. Does this mean she is latching wrong? Or is this just what nipples look like after feeding?

 

[justkitty]

She is latching wrong and bot drawing enough of your areola in her mouth and mainly nipple

 

[momof3bears]

Glad I seen this thread! Mine always looks like that when my son nurses! How do we get a better latch?? My nipples have stayed sore!

 

[justkitty]

My dd had a bad latch and we saw a cranial osteopath. Turns out she had a tight jaw. Could also be where baby is small and will latch better when bigger. See a lactation consultant too.

 

[MrsCeder]

My LO would never open her mouth wide when she was a newborn and therefore the latch wasn't great. I tried lots of things including different positions but nothing worked. My nipple on the right side was always misshapen, lanolin cream helped a lot. Eventually she got the hang of it on her own & now at nearly 5 months everything is going great.

 

[MoldyVoldy]

My dd had a bad latch and we saw a cranial osteopath. Turns out she had a tight jaw. Could also be where baby is small and will latch better when bigger. See a lactation consultant too.

i would see someone in person as well. unfortunately for me, DS had to grow into it. he had a small mouth and his latching issues resolved as he grew. hang in there mama!! it gets so much easier! you're doing wonderfully

 

[noon_child]

Yup small mouthed baby here too and lipstick nipples till week 12. The tongue is supposed to create pressure that releases milk from the breast but either when not enough breast is in their mouth or their tongue isn't out far enough they kinda clamp on with their gums instead, which creates the "flattened on both sides with a centre crease" nipple. The other shape is where part of the nipple is is the right place in the mouth and gets sucked out and the other part isn't and gets rubbed raw and is shorter so the nipple looks "angled" when the feed is over, like when you use a lipstick on the same edge each time.

Lipstick always confused me though as I've bought new lipsticks with both these shapes!

My LO grew in to it but there were a few things that helped.

1)Does she latch well but then seem to pull back a bit? If so the letdown could be too forceful (often on one side more than the other) and expressing some milk off first can help overcome that problem, or re-latching as soon as the slippage starts.

2)Does she struggle to get in to the right position/angle on one side more than the other? Football hold can be great when LO just can't "get it" when facing a particular way. Plus it gives the nipple a bit of a rest as the rubbing happens on a different bit and the raw bits don't get such a constant battering.

3)Get LO checked for tongue and lip tie